TEEN QUESTION/PROBLEM:
I am a 15 year old girl and I feel like i'm drowning in my own stress and just everything. I am mature for my age and that kind of makes things worse. Starting this year in high school (sophomore year) I have started to have very strong feelings for one of my coaches. And that coach just happens to also be a girl. I have played sports all of my life and at first just thought it was because i have such a strong connection to my coaches because i have looked up to them all of my life. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Since the first day we met i have really been almost obsessed with her. I have never had feelings for a woman before. She is 10 years older than me.. but we are so much alike. She has even told me we are alike. I see her almost everyday throughout school and i sometimes go talk to her but I don't want to start annoying her. I guess my biggest problem is just wondering if she is a lesbian. I talked to one of the other coaches to see if they thought that she was and they just said they had no clue but kind of suspect it. I just don't know what to do and i really like her. but if anything did happen we couldn't do anything because she works for the school and that is illegal. this is my main problem right now. i have another problem happening between me and this girl that actually is a lesbian that has come out and i think my friends are starting to speculate that about me too... and that is NOT good. please give me some advice... anything. i have no one to talk to about this.

TEEN LINE WROTE:
Hi, thanks so much for contacting TEEN LINE.

It sounds like you're going through a confusing time with your coach. I encourage you to talk to someone who can support you and your feelings regarding your sexuality: a trusted adult, a school counselor, maybe a close friend? Talking out your feelings may help you understand how you really feel and what you're really thinking.

You can also find the Gay and Lesbian National Website at www.glnh.org, or the Gay and Lesbian Youth Network at www.lagaycenter.org. Project 10, at www.project10.org, is a great organization that supports education for young people like yourself, and can probably answer your questions, as well.

I hope that you either contact TEEN LINE again, through e-mail, or direct your concerns to our hotline, at 310 855 4673, from 6 to 10 P.M. PST.

Thanks so much!
A TEEN LINE listener